The project expands research on the historical development of European populations by analyzing comparatively the extended forms of the family household and the meaning such extended family configurations had for the demographic transition on the European continent. The areas researched are the Balkan peninsula, particularly Serbia; the Swedish-speaking population of the Aland Islands of Finland; and the Latvian population of the Russian Baltic provinces. The time period covered extends from the mid-eighteenth to the twentieth century. The family household is viewed not as a static institution but as a cluster of relationships providing the immediate setting for decisions regarding marriage, post-marital residence, fertility, family limitation, migration and other matters affecting the demographic features of Europe during the premodern period and the demographic transition. By focusing on three rural areas, where the extended family household was a frequently achieved ideal in the premodern base-line populations, and by linking changes in household structure over time to changes in inter alia overall and marital fertility, the project expects to describe the social context of the demographic transition in a way not possible when household and fertility studies are carried out separately.